Deck 5: Northern Eurasia

Question 1

Sochi, Russia is a city on the ________.

A) Baltic Sea
B) Pacific Ocean
C) Arctic Ocean
D) Black Sea

Answer 1

Black Sea

Question 2

Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet due to the once close connection with the ________ empire.

A) Mayan
B) Persian
C) Chinese
D) Byzantine

Answer 2

Byzantine

Question 3

Which of these areas experiences the most severe cold climate?

A) East Siberia
B) Caspian Sea region
C) Black Sea region

Answer 3

East Siberia

Question 4

Because most of Russia's coastline borders the Arctic Sea, the country faces problems with:

A) hurricanes
B) heat waves
C) sea ice
D) Mediterranean climates

Question 5

Which is the correct order of natural regions from north to south?

A) tundra, taiga, steppe, desert
B) forest steppe, tundra, taiga, steppe
C) deciduous, forest steppe, tundra, taiga
D) desert, tundra, steppe, taiga

Question 6

The Don River lies in the European part of the Northern Eurasian region, and therefore:

A) is largely untouched by human development
B) suffers from diverse and numerous sources of pollution
C) empties into the Pacific Ocean
D) is free from cold winter conditions

Question 7

The Roman Catholic church is an NGO and therefore classified as a(n) ________ in Russia.

A) "church with special privileges"
B) "enemy of the state"
C) "foreign agent"
D) "non-entity"

Question 8

Shift of power from Kievan Rus as the center of power in Northern Eurasia to Moscow over time was a shift toward the:

A) north
B) south
C) west
D) far east

Question 9

St. Petersburg oriented Russia toward the ________ due to its location on the Baltic Sea.

A) west
B) east
C) south
D) southeast

Question 10

Russians form the second largest ethnic group in each of the following countries except:

A) Georgia
B) Belarus
C) Azerbaijan
D) Ukraine

Question 11

The populations of all these countries have declined since 2000 except:

A) Russia
B) Belarus
C) Ukraine
D) Azerbaijan

Question 12

Although Putin's policies have stabilized the Russian economy, it is plagued by:

A) high fertility rates
B) lack of natural resources for export
C) rent-seeking siloviki
D) slavery

Question 13

New Russians is a term describing a group of:

A) wealthy
B) immigrants
C) communists
D) children

Question 14

In the Soviet period, Russia graduated many engineers from college. Today, one of the most popular aspirations of college students is:

A) engineer
B) mathematician
C) manager
D) farmer

Question 15

The largest Russian oblasts are in the:

A) west
B) northwest
C) southwest
D) east

Question 16

Some of the Chechen leaders spread the struggle beyond Chechnya in the form of:

A) religious proselytizing
B) economic dominance
C) manufacturing
D) terrorism

Question 17

Russia's Silicon Valley, like the American Silicon Valley, is focused on:

A) high tech industry, research, and design
B) training doctors
C) call centers
D) food processing

Question 18

Stalin forced farmers to work for state-owned farms. However, the most productive agriculture resulted from:

A) private-plot production
B) hydroponics
C) imports
D) capitalist-run arctic greenhouses

Question 19

Russia's proven reserves amount to about one-fourth of the world total of:

A) oil
B) natural gas
C) uranium
D) coal

Question 20

The architect of Moscow's recent transformation was mayor:

A) Putin
B) Luzhkov
C) Yeltsin
D) Medvedev

Question 21

Transdniestria is officially part of:

A) Russia
B) Ukraine
C) Poland
D) Moldova

Question 22

Which is the correct order of Russia leaders after 1991?

A) Putin, Yeltsin, Medvedev
B) Yeltsin, Putin, Medvedev
C) Medvedev, Putin, Yeltsin

Question 23

Some officials in Russia turn to corruption to avoid this widespread problem:

A) murder
B) deportation
C) alcoholism
D) poverty

Question 24

The oblasts with greater than fifty percent non-Russian ethnic groups are in the:

A) west
B) southeast
C) northeast
D) Siberian region

Question 25

Chechnya, a troubled region in Russia, is found in the northern Caucasus Mountains, which is in ________ Russia.

A) eastern
B) northern
C) northwestern
D) southern

Question 26

If a Russian wants to move to a place within his country with many opportunities in factory jobs, a good choice would be:

A) St. Petersburg
B) Astrakhan
C) Norilsk
D) Yakutsk

Question 27

The troubled South Ossetia region lies in ________ Georgia.

A) south
B) northeast
C) southwest
D) north central

Question 28

The Nagorno-Karabakh region lies to the ________ of Armenia.

A) north
B) south
C) east
D) west

Question 29

Among the countries of the Near Abroad, the wealthiest in terms of per capita GNI is:

A) Belarus
B) Ukraine
C) Russia
D) Moldova

Question 30

Among the countries of the Near Abroad, the poorest in terms of per capita GNI is:

A) Belarus
B) Ukraine
C) Russia
D) Georgia

Question 31

Due to proximity to these markets, resources in the Russian far east are marketed to countries such as:

A) Ukraine and Moldova
B) Saudi Arabia and Qatar
C) United Kingdom and France
D) Japan and China

Question 32

Russian population is densest to the ________ of the Ural Mountains.

A) north
B) east
C) west
D) south

Question 33

A well-connected politician might escape a prison term for corruption due to a practice of influencing judges called:

A) mafia intimidation
B) euroskepticism
C) telephone law
D) racketeering

Question 34

The close connection of Russia with the rest of the former Soviet Socialist Republics is reflected in this term that Russia uses for them:

A) puppet states
B) little brothers
C) perestroikas
D) Near Abroad

Question 35

Of the former SSRs, the country with the closest connection to Russia is:

A) Belarus
B) Estonia
C) Latvia
D) Turkmenistan

Question 36

In 1999, ________ and Russia agreed in principle to a union of the two countries.

A) Belarus
B) Ukraine
C) Armenia
D) China

Question 37

Which of the following has been at war with Armenia since the fall of the Soviet Union?

A) the United States
B) Romania
C) Azerbaijan
D) Russia

Question 38

What would a foreign investor from Saudi Arabia find attractive about agriculture in Ukraine?

A) fertile soils
B) ideal climate for grain production
C) large internal market
D) both fertile soils and ideal climate for grain production

Question 39

Ukraine is the dominant language in ________ Ukraine, while Russian is the dominant language in the ________.

A) western; east
B) southern; west
C) northern; south
D) eastern; west

Question 40

Of all the former Soviet Socialist Republics, this one is most closely affiliated with Russia today.

A) Estonia
B) Armenia
C) Belarus
D) Calfornia

Question 41

Although the Chernobyl plant was located in Ukraine, much damage from the reactor meltdown occurred in this Soviet republic bordering Ukraine on the north:

A) Tajikistan
B) Belarus
C) Moldova
D) Estonia

Question 42

The Rose Revolution and Orange Revolution are examples of political change in:

A) Russia's Near Abroad
B) Siberia
C) Russia's internal oblasts
D) Europe

Question 43

The natural regions that have the best soils, in order of most productive or fertile to least productive or fertile, are taiga, mixed forest, and steppe.

Question 44

Given the size of the region, no tracts of generally unpolluted wilderness remain in Northern Eurasia.

Question 45

Georgia, bordering the Black Sea, experiences a more mild climate than Russia.

Question 46

After the Soviet Union ended, health care in Russia deteriorated, and life expectancy for Russian men and women dropped.

Question 47

Because of the resurgence of the Russian Orthodox church, HIV/AIDS is not a problem in today's Russia.

Question 48

The highest elevations in Northern Eurasia are in the far south and east.

Question 49

Sakhalin Island lacks major mineral deposits.

Question 50

Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perception Index lists Russia in a tie for 133rd place; this means that Russia is generally lacking corruption due to Putin's strong reforms.

Question 51

According to the average citizen in the 1990s in Russia, the policy of shock therapy was successful.

Question 52

Russia suffers from several geographic disadvantages in their economy such as distance to markets, harsh climate, and monsoon rains.

Question 53

The Internet, like television and radio stations in Russia, is largely free from government control.

Question 54

Kulturnost in Russian means "uncivilized behavior,"
such as that displayed by Pussy Riot in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Question 55

Unlike Ukraine, which produces grain and other resources, Russia does not consider Turkmenistan part of the "Near Abroad"
because it has nothing to offer Russia.

Question 56

Because Ukraine is free from debt to Russia, has few benefits from Russian investments, and does not depend on Russia for oil and natural gas, it is possible for Ukraine to make a clean break from Russia and integrate with Europe.

Question 57

An example of Ukraine moving toward more friendly relations with Russia is the election of Yushchenko in 2004.

Question 58

More Azerbaijanis live in neighboring Iran than in Azerbaijan itself.

Question 59

When Russia recently invaded Georgia due to conflict over South Ossetia, NATO intervened militarily to expel the Russians.

Question 60

The health of Azerbaijan's economy depends on the world price of uranium.

Question 61

Armenia differs from Azerbaijan because Armenia has a larger population and the majority religion is Islam.

Question 62

The nature of current leadership in Azerbaijan illustrates that country's move toward democracy since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Question 63

The system of government in Georgia illustrates that country's move toward democracy since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Question 64

Discuss challenges presented by the landforms and climate in Russia.

Question 65

Describe the climates, landforms, and natural regions of Northern Eurasia east of the Ural Mountains.

Question 66

Discuss environmental challenges (interactions between man and the environment) in Northern Eurasia.

Question 67

Explain why Russia has potential for eco-tourism.

Question 68

Describe the Russian empire's territorial expansion.

Question 69

Describe conditions for rural peasants and urban industrial workers that led to revolution in Russia.

Question 70

Describe how crony capitalism works in Russia.

Question 71

Contrast the Russian and American college experience.

Question 72

Evaluate conditions for women under the Soviet Union and in today's Russia.

Question 73

Explain why a farmer today might prefer to work on a collective farm instead of being a small-time farmer who owns his own land.

Question 74

Evaluate Russia's current and future resources for energy production.

Question 75

Discuss the power of Putin.

Question 76

Why would Putin threaten to invade Ukraine when Ukraine threatened to expel the Russian fleet from Sebastopol?

Question 77

Discuss how Belarus remains dependent on Russia.

Question 78

Explain how various leaders of the Near Abroad have dealt with Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Question 79

Compare the relationship of Russia with Georgia and Ukraine.

Question 80

Contrast the ethnicity and economies of Armenia and Azerbaijan.